


Hustle and Heart

by YoursAlways



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, One Shot Collection, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-18 02:23:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2331752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoursAlways/pseuds/YoursAlways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots featuring Kagome and the guys of Kuroko no Basket. Ratings will vary by chapter. Pairing requests and prompts are welcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Atsushi Murasakibara I

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter One: Atsushi Murasakibara  
Rating: K

“You have to tell your fangirls to stop coming to our practices,” Okamura groused at Himuro. Practice was finally over for the day and the five starting players were walking out of the gym together. “They’re a distraction.”

Himuro smiled good-naturedly as he said, “I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t know that they’ll listen to me.”

Sighing, Okamura continued, “It’s just not fair. All the cute girls come to watch you. And what about the rest of us? Nothing.”

“You might have better luck if you would get rid of your sideburns as I’ve suggested,” Liu intoned dully.

“Shut up,” Okamura pouted. “I don’t see you guys with girlfriend either. I think it’s because we’re all too big.” When his teammates shot him curious looks, he elaborated. “Cute girls are scared off by big guys like us. That’s why Himuro gets all the girls. He’s the shortest one on the team.” Turning to heavily pat Murasakibara on the back, and causing his larger underclassman to grunt, Okamura laughed, “I guess that means you’ve got the worst luck of us all, huh Murasakibara?”

Looking up from rummaging through the bag of snacks that he’d bought before practice, Murasakibara hummed a little before saying, “But I have a girlfriend.” It took a couple of steps for Murasakibara and Himuro to realize that the rest of the team had stopped dead in their tracks. “What?” The tall center asked.

“When did you get a girlfriend?!” Fukui asked in shock.

Murasakibara seemed to think for a moment before turning to Himuro with a small frown. “How long has it been, Muro-chin?”

Doing some quick calculations in his head, Himuro looked up at his teammate and answered, “It’s been a while. Almost three months, maybe?”

“Himuro!” Fukui turned on the second year. “You knew about it?”

“Of course,” Himuro answered as though it would be obvious. “We spend a lot of our free time together, after all.”

Before Fukui could ask anymore questions, Okamura snapped out of his disbelief and jumped into the conversation. “ _How_ did you get a girlfriend?!”

Murasakibara blinked twice before lazily explaining, “She’s in the cooking club. I was walking by their room one day and something smelled really good. When I went inside, they were making fudge. She shared with me when it was done. She always shared when I went back, and we decided to go on a date one day. She’s really cute.”

The older players stared at Murasakibara warily. They knew that he usually favored tall girls, and they weren’t sure how many girls in their school were really tall and could still be called “cute” instead of “pretty.”

“Is she cute, Himuro?” Okamura asked seriously.

Nodding, Himuro confidently answered, “She really is pretty cute.” He heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl coming from beside him and turned to see his tall teammate glaring down at him. “Don’t worry, I was just agreeing with you,” Himuro told his friend. “I’m not going to try to steal her away or anything.”

Before anymore questions could be asked, the five young men heard a side door open on the main building to their left before a voice called out. “Atsushi!”

Murasakibara looked up and smiled gently. “Kago-chin,” he responded with a slight wave.

Kagome jogged towards the group having spotted her boyfriend - because really, who could miss him? - but slowed when she noticed the other young men staring at her. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all,” Himuro speaks up with a polite smile. “The rest of the team just found out that Murasakibara had a girlfriend. They were a little surprised.”

“Oh,” Kagome says in relief. She was afraid that she’d walked into something serious. Walking over to Murasakibara’s side, Kagome bowed shortly as she said, “I’m Kagome Higurashi. It’s nice to meet the rest of Atsushi’s team.”

The three upperclassmen stared at the petite girl beside their giant teammate, and they just didn’t seem to match up. She barely came up to Murasaki’s chest, the top of her head still several inches below his collarbones. And aside from being on the short side, she had a small frame to match.

“Uh, nice to meet you,” Fukui finally responded.

Seeing that introductions probably wouldn’t get much further than that on their own, Himuro stepped in. “Kagome, this is Kenichi Okamura, Wei Liu, and Kensuke Fukui, the rest of our starting team.”

Before Kagome had a chance to respond, Murasakibara reached down and tapped a plastic container that Kagome had in one hand. “Kago-chin, what’s this?”

Kagome craned her neck to look up at her abnormally tall boyfriend as she smiled brightly. “It’s my latest recipe! The cooking club is going to have a charity bake sale soon as part of our volunteer work. I brought the result of my latest batch for you to taste test.” Removing the plastic lid, she held the container up little higher.

Murasakibara carefully picked up one of the cookies and examined it. There were little blue spots in it. Taking an experimental bite, he was pleasantly surprised. Pushing the rest of the cookie into his mouth, he asked, “What kind are they?”

“Blueberry cheesecake. Do you like them?” Humming with a small nod, Murasakibara reached down for another cookie. Kagome smiled before turning to look at the other basketball players. “Do you guys want to try one?”

Always happy to accept something homemade by a pretty girl, the rest of the team started to step closer only to pause. Murasakibara quickly bent down to pick up Kagome, startling her in the process. He had her situated so that she was sitting on his forearm, arms wrapped around his neck for balance. “Kago-chin,” he whined. “Don’t give away my cookies.”

“But there are plenty,” she argued. “And you almost made me drop them! I’ve told you not to just pick me up like that.”

“I’m walking you home today, though,” he pointed out. “Your legs are so short that you have to run to keep up with me. It’s easier to just carry you.”

Kagome sighed as she looked down into Murasakibara’s violet eyes. Sitting on level with his chest, her head was just a little above his. “Or you could just walk slower?”

“No,” Murasakibara drawled out. “Too much trouble. Carrying you is easier.” He reached up and took another cookie from the container.

“I have to get heavy after a while,” she said.

Shaking his head, Murasakibara disagreed. “You barely weigh anything. You should eat more,” he told her as he picked up another cookie and pressed it to her lips.

Kagome rolled her eyes as she bit the treat and waited for him to let go so that she could grab it herself. “But then you might not be able to carry be anymore,” she pointed out.

“I’ll carry Kago-chin anywhere she wants,” he told her as he tilted his head up to place a small peck on Kagome’s jaw. “Let’s go to your place now. I need help with my history homework.”

“Fine, fine,” Kagome told him as he turned to walk away from the rest of his team without another word to them. Kagome on the other hand, turned back to wave at the small group. “Sorry about the cookies!” She called out to them. “You should come to the bake sale though! There’ll be plenty as long as you get there before Atsushi!”

Himuro tried not to chuckle at the expressions on the rest of his teammate’s faces. “They’re a strange couple,” he admitted. “But they work. I think she likes taking care of him, and he likes being taken care of.”

The first to come out of his thoughts, Fukui asked, “Does she not live in the student dorms?” Yosen was a large school, and because many of their students came from all over, most of the student body lived in the dormitories.

A little surprised by the question, Himuro shook his head. “No, she lives off campus with Coach Araki.” When the other’s eyes widened at this news, he continued, “Couldn’t you tell just by looking at her? She’s the coach’s niece.”

“And Coach Araki is okay with them dating?” Liu asked curiously.

Himuro opened his mouth to reply only to close it again. Thinking about it, the coach often worked late and hadn’t seemed to treat Murasakibara any differently lately. “I’m actually not certain that the coach knows they’re dating,” he admitted.

With that realization, the same thought swept through the four Yosen basketball players at the same time.

If Coach Araki ever found out Murasakibara was dating her niece, the giant was likely a dead man, and the team might be in need of a new center.


	2. Seijurou Akashi

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Two: Seijurou Akashi  
Rating: K+  
Prompt: Empress

It had been a long day and Akashi was glad to finally be home. Since taking over his family’s business, he was beginning to understand why his father had always seemed so high-strung and why he’d pushed for excellence in everything that Akashi did. But when he was home, he was able to relax. It was a place where meetings and paperwork and contracts didn’t exist.

He was about to start up the stairs so that he could change clothes when something caught his attention in his peripheral vision. Glancing into the large living room to his right, Akashi lifted a red brow at the pair of legs dangling over the arm of one of the couches. He loosened his tie a little as he stepped into the room and walked to stand behind the couch where the aforementioned legs were resting. A small smile tugged at his lips.

She made quite a sight, his wife. She was lying on her back on the couch with her knees hooked over the arm. Arms folded over her stomach and black hair spilling over the edge of the cushions and likely onto the floor, she was perfectly still and breathing evenly while a small stack of bound papers covered her face. He looked up to the area surrounding her and saw that it was a flurry of papers covering the coffee table and floor. It could only be expected though. It was time for finals at the university where she taught history, the same university where they met as students, and she was trying to get all of the final papers graded.

Akashi made his way around the opposite end of the couch and gently sat by her head before he lifted the papers from her sleeping face. She hadn’t even bothered to change clothes after getting home. She’d fallen asleep in her black slacks and cream colored blouse. “Kagome,” he called to her in a soft tone while brushing aside some of her bangs. She mumbled a little in her sleep, turned her face towards his hand, and smiled, but she still didn’t wake up.

His smile began to widen a little more as he thought about the fit his father would have if he saw the lady of the house sleeping in such a way. In the beginning, his father had been vehemently against him dating Kagome and those feelings only intensified when Akashi had announced his intentions to propose. After all, his father had spent years compiling a very short list of young ladies from high class families whom he deemed acceptable to marry into their family.

All through his childhood, Akashi had done what his father had told him. He took extra lessons, was always top of his class and head of his extracurriculars, attended the best schools, and made friends with all of the right people. He’d been the perfect some that he’d been expected to be, and he’d never complained about the burden or pressure. But when his father had demanded that he end his relationship with Kagome, Akashi had pushed back against family tradition for the first time. 

Kagome wasn’t from the world he’d been raised in, and he supposed that was one of the many things that he loved about her. She was so different from everyone he’d known while growing up. While she was polite and could mingle at parties as well as any socialite, but when they were at home and away from prying eyes, she wasn’t afraid to relax and be herself. She laughed freely and loved to play and tease. While it had been that game against Kuroko in high school that had snapped him out of his more frigid demeanor, it was meeting Kagome and getting to know her that taught him how to relax and have fun again. Or maybe truly for the first time.

One argument between Akashi and his father had gotten so heated that he’d threatened to just elope with the woman he loved. His father had immediately threatened to disown him, but Akashi had expect it and called the bluff. He was well aware that as the Akashi family’s only son and not having any cousins, he was the only heir that his father had to choose from. It was either disown his son and had the family business over to someone outside of the family or give into his son’s demands. He’d caved in the end and Akashi had felt quite superior for some time after that.

He’d proposed to Kagome not long after, and the rest was history.

Leaning down, Akashi placed a kiss on Kagome’s forehead and spoke a little louder than he had earlier. “Kagome.”

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut tightly before blinking sleepily in an effort to wake up. Looking up, she saw two eyes, one red and one gold, staring down at her. “Seijurou,” she murmured in a drowsy voice. “When did you get home?”

“Not long ago,” he answered as he moved so that she could sit up and stretch. “How many more papers do you have left to grade?”

Scrubbing her hands over her face, Kagome groaned. “I’m not even sure,” she confessed. She looked at the mess around her and sighed. “I need a better way to organize all of these.” Pausing a moment, she turned to face Akashi and reached out to take his hand. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy with all of this lately. I feel like we’ve barely seen each other.”

And that was another thing that he loved about her. She had never been afraid to look him in the eye. Many people found his gaze unsettling and wouldn’t hold eye contact for long. They were intimidated. And for a long time, he’d liked it that way. He thought that was the way things should be. But then she came along. Kagome had treated him as an equal from day one. She couldn’t be intimidated and wouldn’t kowtow to him. While it had irritated him a little in the beginning, he now had more respect for her than just about anyone else.

Akashi slid across the couch to be closer to Kagome and pulled her hand, still holding his, to his lips. She was different and she wasn’t conventional or traditional or at all who his family had expected him to choose as his wife, but she was perfect. She was funny and intelligent and beautiful and she made him happy. She was his queen, his empress, and he would be sure to always treat her as such. “Then let’s go out to dinner tonight,” Akashi proposed with his mouth still close enough to Kagome’s hand that his lips brushed her skin as he spoke.

Kagome smiled and shook her head. “I still have too much work here.”

“We’ll go to dinner, have a nice meal, catch up from the last few days, and when we come home I’ll help you finish grading your papers,” he laid out his plan.

Casting him a teasing look, Kagome smiled as she hedged, “I don’t know. Some of these papers are almost painful to read. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“I’m always up for a challenge,” Akashi smirked as he leaned in closer to his love, slipped one hand behind her neck, and pulled her in for a deep kiss. She should know how much he loved new challenges. She was constantly challenging him, herself. And it was just one more thing on the long list of things that he loved about her, his queen, his empress.


	3. Ryouta Kise

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter One: Ryuota Kise  
Rating: K/K+  
Prompt: Lovesick/Awkward, Model

Today was the day. He tried to keep his foot from tapping while his makeup artist went about her work, but he had to try even harder to keep from glancing off to his left. His partner for the day’s photoshoot was only a few feet away and he could hear her talking and laughing with the man doing her hair.

“Kise?” His makeup artist questioned as she stepped directly in his line of sight. “Are you okay? You seem flushed. Should I call your manager over?”

“Oh! Ah...no, I’m fine,” he tried to laugh off with the most charming smile he could muster through his embarrassment. “I think I’m just a little warm from the lights.” He indicated the bright lights around the mirror that was in front of him and hoped that it was a believable enough excuse.

“Hmm,” the woman hummed as she examined his skin again. “Okay,” she said finally. “If you need water or anything, just let me know. In the meantime I’ll try to cover up the redness in your complexion since the lights on the set probably won’t be much better.”

Nodding in agreement, Kise let out a long breath from his nose. This was stupid. He was a professional! He’d done all sorts of jobs and had done them flawlessly, no problems. Then his manager had told him that he’d be shooting an ad for a new men and women’s fashion line with a partner. With her. Finally giving in a glancing to the side, he felt his heart speed up a little when he saw Kagome Higurashi lean forward in her chair to touch one of the loose curls in her hair as she asked her hairdresser something that he didn’t hear. She was fairly new in the modeling world, but she was an up and comer who was getting a lot of good attention and gaining popularity fast. Every so often he would have a partner for a shoot, but he’d wanted to work with Kagome for a while now.

And here he was, finally getting his chance to meet and work with a colleague that he had more than a little bit of a crush on, and he was _nervous_ of all things. He didn’t get nervous! He was Ryouta Kise. He had fans follow him practically everywhere he went while they screamed his name. He was a star basketball player. He’d been modeling for years and had never felt anything but comfortable in front of a camera. But today, as excited as he was for this particular job, he couldn’t calm this nervous urge to fidget.

“I think that should do it,” his makeup artist finally announced as she took a step back to look over her work. “I can always touch you up during breaks.”

Kise thanked her as she pulled the tissues from the collar of his shirt, and he heard the photographer calling for the two models to come to the set. It almost startled him when Kagome trotted up and fell into step beside him. “I’m looking forward to working with you today,” she offered as she looked up at him.

When he turned to respond, he noticed just how short she was, just barely coming up to his shoulders. He caught sight of her shoes, a pair of platform pumps, dangling from her fingers and briefly thought that it was probably a smart choice not to put them on yet given all the drop cords for the various lights and whatnot. _‘Wait,’_ he thought as his eyes widened slightly. _‘She just said something. What did she say? Oh, no. What did she say?!’_ Mind racing, he scrambled to backtrack to when she’d first come up beside him. Watching Kagome’s expectant face, he eventually remembered what she’d say only to all but shout back at her, “You too!”

He noticed her jump a little at his loud outburst, which really had been much louder than he’d planned, and wanted to kick himself. Fighting the urge to groan at the first impression he was making, Kise forced himself to remain smiling even as Kagome trotted ahead of him to put on her shoes and get ready for the shoot. Hopefully work would take his mind off of how lame he was being…

Or maybe not. Once they were both in place, they’d been instructed to pose close together, holding each other. With the added height of her heels, Kagome easily wrapped an arm around his neck and shoulders while laying the other against his chest. Kise, on the other hand, was at a bit of a loss and was even more confused as to why he was at a loss in the first place. He did this all the time. It was a job. She was his partner. But unlike a lot of his previous modeling partners, she wasn’t older than him. They were the same age. She wasn’t the experienced one. He’d been doing this for years longer. He should be taking the lead, but all he could do was over-think everything. Where should he put his hands? Would she get upset if his hands went too low (though not _too_ low, of course)? Would she object if he pulled her closer? How many jobs like this had she done? Was she used to it? She seemed comfortable enough. Gosh, her hair smelled great.

While Kise was warring with himself inside his head and playing a game of hover hands on set, the art director apparently got tired of waiting. He quickly approached the two teens from the sidelines and moved Kise’s hands for him so that he was holding one of Kagome’s hands and resting the other against her back. They managed to continue like that for a while, making adjustments to the poses here and there, but after several minutes it became apparent that Kise was far too tense.

A short break was called while the photographer, art director, and model managers had a small meeting, and Kise used that time to grab some water, sit in his makeup chair, and try to bury his head in his hands. What was wrong with him? He was making an idiot of himself and coming off as completely incompetent, and all in front of the one girl he’d wanted to meet for months.

Kagome padded along in her bare feet and paused looking at Kise’s slumped shoulders. She’d heard a lot of good things about him from other people and she’d been excited to work with him, but something just seemed off. _‘Well, he is pretty popular and established. Maybe he didn’t want to work with someone so new?’_ She thought as she tried not to bite her lip and ruin her makeup. Glancing over to the bag she’d brought along, she sighed and figured it might be a decent ice-breaker since her earlier attempt hadn’t gone all that great. She rummaged around for a minute before she found what she was looking for and approached the blond.

Reaching out a hand, Kagome lightly tapped Kise’s shoulder and smiled a little nervously when he looked up, startled. “Hi,” she said with a small wave. “I’m sorry and I really hope I’m not bothering you, but I was wondering if I could get a small favor.” With that she offered him a magazine, a pen, and a sheepish smile.

It took Kise a minute to realize what she was asking. The magazine was one of many dedicated to sports, and he recognized it as an issue that had run an article on him not long ago. “An autograph?” He questioned as he took the magazine and pen reflexively.

“Yeah,” Kagome laughed while rubbing her arm. “My little brother is a big fan. I think you’re the reason he’s started getting into basketball instead of soccer recently.”

Finally able to fall into something that he was used to, Kise smiled a little easier as he asked, “What’s his name?”

“Souta,” Kagome provided. As she watched him flip to the page with his article, she spoke, “About today...I’m sorry if I’m throwing you off. I know I haven’t been doing this very long. I was actually really nervous about coming here today since I knew that I’d be working with you.”

He’d just finished the autograph and hadn’t even capped the pen again before he froze in shock while Kagome rambled on a nervous apology about how she’d wanted to work with him but had been worried about making a good impression. He wanted to blurt out that he’d wanted to meet her too, but he was able to bite his tongue in time to avoid another random outburst.

Kagome laughed awkwardly as she continued to try to fill the silence between them since Kise was just staring at her wordlessly. “I’d actually hoped that after we were finished here today you might want to go get coffee or something to eat so that we could talk an you could maybe give me some tips for improvement.”

“Yes!” Kise interrupted before she could continue her nervous chatter. So much for no more outbursts, though. “I mean, yeah, that would be great.”

“Really?” Kagome asked in surprise. But when she saw the excitement in Kise’s golden eyes, she relaxed some and genuinely returned his smile. “That’s great.”

Intending to fully shove his way through this new, much more at ease, door that had been opened, Kise handed Kagome back her magazine as he asked, “How old is your brother?”

“He just turned nine,” she answered as she slipped the magazine and pen back into her bag.

“And what about you? Do you like basketball?” He continued to question.

Kagome hesitated before admitting, “I’ve watched a few games, but I never know what’s going on. I really don’t know that much about it.”

“I could teach you!” Kise offered excitedly. If he could spend time with a girl he very much wanted to know better while talking about one of his favorite things...well, Kise couldn’t think of a much better scenario.

As the two fell into easy conversation while their managers and directors for the day finished up their meeting, they were finally able to get comfortable enough with each other to get through the rest of the day’s shoot without anymore incidents. Though the first batches of pictures were scrapped because Kise had done an uncanny impersonation of a mannequin, the latter pictures turned out great and everyone was able to go home after a job well done.

Kise waited by the exit for Kagome after having sent his manager on without him. It hadn’t taken him as long to get his makeup off and get changed, so he was waiting patiently (though just barely). He really hadn’t been that sure about the day’s start, but things had somehow turned around in his favor. He pulled out his phone when it buzzed in his pocket and saw a message from his newest contact entry, _Kagome Higurashi_. It was a message letting him know that she was almost finished and would be out in another couple of minutes. Smiling widely as he typed out a quick response, he snapped his phone shut and slid it back into his pocket with an excited little hum. He may have been eager to get going, but if this not-a-real-date could lead to more not-real-dates and then hang-outs and then maybe even date-dates, then he was more than willing to wait as long as he’d need to. Well, as long as it was within the next five minutes or so. After that he might not be able to stop himself from going in search of his not-a-real-date date.


	4. Daiki Aomine I

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter One: Daiki Aomine  
Rating: K+  
Prompt: Idol

Okay, this was definitely a drawback to her job. Was a day off going out with her friends really so much to ask? They’d managed to drag her out to a high school basketball game which was supposed to feature some amazing teams and players, but seemed like a bust now. As Kagome jogged down another hallway in an attempt to avoid (ditch) the crowd of fans that had decided to basically mob her, she was regretting accepting that idol scout’s offer. Sure, it was fun and she got to see and do some amazing things, but really...was it worth not being able to make a trip to the restroom in peace? At least the crowd had spotted her as she was _leaving_ the restroom.

She had no idea where she was going. The hallways of the large gymnasium arena were almost labyrinthine. And how were these people still keeping up?! She thought that surely they would have given up already. Turning one more sharp corner, she wasn’t expecting there to be a person there and ended up running smack into someone’s back before falling back on her rear. “Ow…” she muttered as she rubbed her nose.

Aomine had gotten to the gym late, but he still wasn’t in any big hurry. He was making his way towards Touou’s locker room when someone ran into him, and judging by the small noise the person made when they hit the floor, it was a girl. Turning slightly to look over his shoulder, his blue eyes widened slightly at seeing Kagome Higurashi sprawled out on the floor behind him. It took no time at all for him to be turned completely around and crouched down in front of her to make sure that it was _really_ her.

When the very tall boy she ran into dropped down closer to her level to examine her, Kagome unconsciously scooted away a little bit. They stared at each other for a moment before Kagome finally spoke up. “Sorry about ru-” but she dropped off mid sentence when she finally heard the people she’d been trying to avoid drawing closer.

When Kagome stopped talking and did an impression of a deer in headlights, Aomine stood and leaned around the corner to see a group of people who were apparently searching for someone. He caught on quick enough and saw a golden opportunity. “Come on,” he said as he snatched Kagome up by her wrist and pulled her several feet down the hall before slipping both of them into Touou’s locker room.

Once the door was shut behind them and her wrist was released, Kagome froze. She was alone in a room with a boy who was much larger than she was and who very likely knew who she was if his earlier reaction was anything to go by. But her nervousness dissipated somewhat when he turned from her completely to go drop his bag on one of the room’s benches. She was quiet as she watched him sift through the bag’s contents and pull out a small stack of several magazines. He thumbed through them before making a small noise of success and pulling one magazine from the middle. Replacing the rest of the stack, he made his way back to stand in front of her before presenting her with what he’d been searching for.

Kagome looked down and her face immediately went bright red. It was that stupid gravure book she’d done (and had been trying to forget about). It was mostly just her in cute, if slightly revealing, outfits since she’d refused to do anything in just her underwear. They _had_ managed to talk her into a bikini for a few shots though. “Not every day I meet an idol,” the boy smirked down at her. “Can I get an autograph?” 

Trying not to think about why he would just have that magazine on him when he had no idea he would be meeting her, Kagome managed to find her voice and say, “Sure.” He had helped her hide from her pursuers, after all. “I don’t have a pen, though.”

Aomine walked back to his bag and reached into one of the pockets to pull out an old pen. “Catch,” he said before tossing it to her lightly. He didn’t take his eyes off of her as she moved to sit on the end of a bench and neatly signed her name across the book’s cover. It was a little surreal. He’d only ever seen her on TV and in the pages of his book, but here she was in the flesh. She was a little shorter than he’d thought, but she was just as cute as she was in her pictures. Maybe even more when he got to see her blush like that.

“Here you go,” Kagome smiled as politely as she could. “And thank you, by the way. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to get away from that crowd."

“Sure,” Aomine responded as he took the photo book and pen back from her. “You can stay here for a while if you want. It’ll be a while before they’re back.”

Kagome was about to ask how he knew that when she noticed that the jacket he was removing matched some of the others laying around on benches and bags. “Wait...is this your team’s locker room?”

“Yep,” he answered as he pulled the t-shirt he was wearing over his head. He didn’t miss the way Kagome’s blush came back as she turned her head away, and it gave his already inflated ego a boost. “Embarrassed?” He teased.

“No,” Kagome bit out defensively even though it wasn’t completely true. “I’m just giving you some privacy,” she explained as she shielded her periphery with her hand.

Aomine laughed as he pulled his jersey out of his bag but held off on putting it on. “I’m not shy,” he assured with a slightly suggestive undertone.

Kagome took a chance and peeked through her fingers to see if he was dressed yet, but ducked her head again when she caught sight of dark, smooth skin of his chest. She heard him laugh at her and wanted to throw something at him. “So,” she began while trying to take some of the awkwardness out of the situation. “You play for this team, right? Aren’t they already playing? You’re late.”

“Eh, they can manage without me for a while,” he told her casually as he finally slipped his jersey on and tucked the ends into his shorts. “Besides, we have to give the other team a chance before I get there.”

Kagome laughed at his cocky attitude. “Someone’s confident.”

“I just know that I’ll win. I always win.”

“Not always,” she said as she lowered her hand and gave him a skeptical look.

“Always.” The answer sounded arrogant, but it was dampened by the look on his face; like the fact that he always won was upsetting instead of gratifying.

Unsure of what to say to that, Kagome took a breath before standing and walking to press her ear against the door. Hearing that everything in the hall was quiet, she turned back to her rescuer and said, “Well, thanks again for helping me out. I wish there was some way that I could repay you.” She regretted her words almost as soon as they left her mouth.

Aomine made his way over to stand in front of Kagome before he leaned down so that they were almost eye level with each other. “I’ll take a date,” he suggested with a confident smile.

Kagome laughed as she said, “If you like idols as much as I think you do,” she paused to give his bag a pointed look. “You know that we aren’t really allowed to date.”

“We could skip to the good parts now since we’re alone.”

Eyes widening in disbelief at his nerve, she was stunned almost completely speechless. “I...I don’t think so, but I guess you get points for trying. You’ll just have to settle.”

“For what?”

Kagome leaned forward and kissed his cheek before drawing back and ducking under his arm to open the door a crack. Seeing that the halls were empty and quiet, she opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into the hall.

Aomine followed her into the hall feeling rather accomplished for getting any sort of kiss at all. Honestly, he’d just been messing around, but he wasn’t about to complain. He watched Kagome look this way and that before offering, “You can get back to the seats that way.” He pointed around a corner at the other end of the hall.

“Thanks,” she said as she smiled up at him. She didn’t think her first impression of him being a mild pervert was completely off base, but she was also starting to think that there might be a good guy in there somewhere too. “Well, thanks _again_ , I guess.” As she started walking the way he’d indicated, she paused when he called out to her.

“You gonna cheer for me?” He asked as he gave her one last once-over before she left.

“I don’t even know your name!” Kagome laughed as she stood at the corner she needed to take.

“Aomine.”

Nodding, she answered, “Sure, I’ll cheer for you. I want to see if you really do always win.” Looking him over from a distance, she bit the inside of her lip. Standing there in his uniform looking completely relaxed and confident at the same time, Kagome had to admit that he definitely wasn’t unattractive. “If you do, I might come congratulate you after the game.” With a blush creeping its way back onto her cheeks, she disappeared around the corner before he could respond.

Aomine had been sure that he’d win before ever even setting foot on the court, but with incentive like that, this time he was actually going to _try_.


	5. Tetsuya Kuroko

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Five: Tetsuya Kuroko  
Rating: K  
Prompt: She Sees Him, Library

Frowning at the slight squeak that one of the wheels gave off every now and then, Kuroko pushed a small cart stacked with books through the Seirin’s library. The job of returning the books to their proper shelves had been handed down to him, and he went about his task while drawing minimal attention, as usual. He was just sliding a history book into place when someone came into the same aisle. Reaching for the next book, he didn’t give the other person much thought and expected them to pass by him without noticing he was there like everyone else did. That’s why he was a little startled when the person started speaking to him.

“Oh, thank goodness,” they whispered while approaching him. “Are you on the Library Committee?”

Kuroko turned to see if it was really him that was being addressed, and surprisingly enough found a pair of blue eyes looking up at him hopefully. Unused to being spoken to without drawing attention to himself first, he was at a loss for words and could only nod as he said, “Yes.”

“That’s so great,” the girl breathed in relief. Continuing in a soft voice she explained, “I really need to find a book for a project, but I think I’m a little turned around in here. Would you mind helping me?”

Nodding again, he took a small card to see what book she was looking for before speaking, “This book is just on the next row over. I’ll help you find it.”

Thanking him, she followed after him happily while his mind was still trying to wrap around this new development. “I’m Kagome, by the way,” the girl introduced as she quickened her steps to walk beside him.

“Kuroko,” he replied quietly as they stopped in front of the shelf they were looking for. He pulled a book from the shelf and handed it over to Kagome along with the card she’d given him. “If you’re using this as a reference for a project, you might find some useful information in this one too,” he added as he pulled another nearby book.

“Thanks, this is perfect!” Kagome enthused in a whisper. “I really appreciate your help, Kuroko.”

When he nodded in acceptance of her thanks, he watched Kagome wave and trot off to the library’s front desk to check out her books.

Over the next couple of weeks, Kagome was a frequent visitor in the library. She’d gotten the references that she needed for her project, but she kept coming back and seeking him out. It was a little confusing at first, but over time, Kuroko got used to being approached. And he had to admit that it was nice. It felt good to be noticed. It had been so rare while he was growing up that the experience always felt new and fresh, and it made him want more. 

Kagome had dropped the pretense of looking for books after a couple of visits and eventually fell into just keeping him company while he carried out his Library Committee duties. They talked about everything; their favorite subjects, their favorite books, he explained the rules and positions of basketball. One time there was even a heavy debate on vanilla milkshakes versus strawberry milkshakes. They eventually agreed to disagree.

On one of his off-days frrom the library, Kuroko was walking towards the gym with Kagami, trying to explain a passage from their literature homework’s assigned reading, when a familiar voice called out to him.

“Kuroko!” Kagome waved while trying to flag him down from the other end of the hall.

When she broke away from a small group of students and finally stood in front of him, she smiled happily at him. “I’m on the last chapter of that book you let me borrow, and you were right, I love it,” she told him. Expression turning a little sheepish, she asked, “Is there any way you could bring the sequel tomorrow and we could trade?”

“Of course,” he answered with a soft smile. He was happy to hear that she was enjoying one of his favorite books. He didn’t know many people who read the series, and it would be nice to be able to talk about it with someone.

“Great!” Noticing the gym bags that Kuroko and his teammate were carrying, realization dawned on Kagome. “Oh! You were probably on your way to the gym. Sorry to hold you up, I’ll let you get back to it. Work hard! And let me know when you’re next game is, okay? I want to come cheer for you.” When Kuroko nodded, Kagome smiled and waved at him and his friend before returning to the group of students she’d been talking with before.

Kuroko began walking again, but it took Kagami a few seconds to snap out of his surprise and catch up. “What the hell was that?” The taller boy asked.

“What?” Kuroko asked glancing up to his friend.

“How did she see you there? You were just walking like you usually do and she spotted you like it was nothing!”

Kuroko thought about how Kagome was always able to single him out in a crowd, and replied with a small smile, “I don’t know.”


	6. Kenichi Okamura

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Six: Kenichi Okamura  
Rating:   
Prompt: Clean Shaven

The members of the Yosen basketball team were in their locker room changing and getting ready for practice when their captain walked through the door and the room went quiet. Nobody said a word as they watched Okamura go to his locker and deposit his bag before starting to change out of his school uniform. Everyone just watched on as Fukui approached the taller boy and examined his face closely. “You _shaved_.”

Okamura kept his eyes forward, pulling his practice clothes out of his bag, as he replied, “Yeah. And?” His tone sounded a little defensive, but the slight blush across his face belied his embarrassment at the obvious statement.

“ _And_?” Fukui asked with no small amount of incredulity in his voice. “You _shaved_! You’ve had those stupid sideburns for as long as I’ve known you, and now they’re gone. What the hell? Did you lose a bet?”

“More like a win,” another player muttered from across the room causing everyone to stifle their laughter as they listened in on the rest of the conversation between their captain and vice-captain.

Okamura sighed. He had known it was coming. He’d _known_. But it was still annoying. Members of his team had been after him to get rid of his sideburns for a good long time, but he’d never given in. So of course it would draw notice when he finally shaved them. He didn’t want to admit that any of them had been right, but he also knew that they wouldn’t leave it alone until he explained. “No,” he finally answered. “I...have a date.”

If they thought the locker room was silent before, it was nothing compared to what followed after that statement. “What?” Fukui asked, positive that he’d heard wrong.

“I said I have a date,” Okamura repeated. “After practice.”

After a moment more of silence, it was broken when Fukui began to laugh. “No you don’t!” He argued, sure that this was a joke.

“I do!” Okamura defended. 

Before the status of Okamura’s love life could be discussed any more, something hit the door to the locker room and the teens heard their coach yell for them to hurry up. Not willing to risk irritating their coach, the young men hurried in changing into their practice clothes and got out on the court. Though just because practice had started didn’t mean that the teasing stopped. Joking questions continued through all of the drills, but Okamura answered them all seriously, trying to insist that he wasn’t making it up.

“So who’s your “date?””

“She’s a second year here.”

“Is your “date” okay with waiting until our practice is over?”

“She’s on the girls’ track team and has practice too.”

“You never shaved before. Was this for “her?””

“I heard she likes guys with smooth faces, so I shaved before I asked her out.”

“Should we expect her to be imaginary or just invisible?”

“Shut up! You’re all gonna see that I’m not making this up!”

Practice was long and annoying for Okamura who had already wanted to to be short so that he could get to his date. It didn’t go unnoticed by him that most of the guys who left immediately after changing out of their practice clothes stuck around. They were waiting to see if this mystery girl was real or if he’d finally cracked. Firmly ignoring the laughs and wisecracks, he changed, gathered up his things, and left the locker room and gym.

She had agreed to meet him by the school gates after practice so that they could go get something to eat together. As he walked to the gates, most of his team only steps behind him, he actually started to get a little nervous. What if she wasn’t there? What if she wasn’t coming? What if it had been a joke? Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything about his date at all…

As they reached the gates, he looked around and his heart sank. She wasn’t there. He almost flinched when Fukui spoke again. “So which one was it? Imaginary or invisible?”

Okamura almost snapped at his vice-captain, but he stopped when he heard quickly approaching footsteps. “Excuse me,” a feminine voice repeated a few times between breathless pants as someone made their way through the crowd of tall basketball players. And Okamura could have cried when Kagome finally made it to the front of the group and braced her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Looking up at him, she smiled in apology as she explained, “Sorry I’m late, Kenichi. Some poles fell and knocked stuff over in the equipment room. It took a little while to clean up.”

As Kagome caught her breath and worked on straightening her mussed clothes some, Okamura looked at his team with an expression that practically screamed “Told you so.” Relieved that she’d shown up at all, he said, “Don’t worry about it. I just got here too.”

“That’s good then,” Kagome nodded as she stepped closer to him and slipped her small hand into his much larger one. “Are you ready to go?” Casting a look around at the gawking basketball players, she added, “Or were you in the middle of something?”

“No,” he answered a little smugly as he looked at the disbelieving faces watching them. “I’m good to go now.”

As the lingering athletes watched a very petite girl tug their captain after her, they were once again stunned speechless.

“Okay...his delusion didn’t spread, right? That wasn’t a hallucination? I wasn’t the only one who saw that?” Fukui questioned, still having a hard time believing what he’d just witnessed. When the rest of the team shook their heads in equal states of disbelief, he turned to look in the direction that the couple had gone and smiled a little. He may have given him a hard time, but Okamura was still his friend. “ _Damn_ ,” he said impressed. Who knew a shave could make that much of a difference?


	7. Atsushi Murasakibara II

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Seven: Atsushi Murasakibara  
Rating: K  
Prompt: Continuation

Kagome readjusted her hold on the bags that she carried as she made her way towards the gym. The cooking club’s bake sale had gone well, and they’d ended up raising a fair amount of money. After counting it and recording their hours and activities, the club had turned over the money to the school so that it could be donated to a local church-run orphanage. But even though their project had been successful, there was still a good bit of food that hadn’t been sold, so she’d offered to take it off the club’s hands instead of having it go to waste.

It was almost time for the sports teams to start wrapping up practice, so she bumped open the door to the gym with her hip and slipped inside. Despite trying to be quiet so that she wouldn’t interrupt anything, her presence wasn’t unnoticed. She had to suppress a laugh when Murasakibara simply left his position guarding the practice hoop and made his way towards her.

“What are you doing here, Kago-chin? Practice isn’t over yet,” he said as he looked from her to the bags she held.

Lifting the bags a little higher, she smiled, “You weren’t able to carry as much as you wanted when you came to the bake sale earlier, so I thought I’d bring you the leftovers that we couldn’t sell.”

Murasakibara’s tired eyes lit up a little as he smiled down at his girlfriend and laid a large hand on top of her head affectionately. “Kago-chin is the best.”

From the other side of the gym, the team heaved a collective sigh as Murasakibara wandered off. But when they saw where he was going, and more specifically who he was going towards, all of the starters turned to look at their coach and nearly flinched. 

Coach Araki frowned when Murasakibara abandoned his position, and she wished that she could say that it was a rare occurrence. But the truth was that she was willing to put up with a lot from the talented if lazy ace. That is, she was willing to put up with a lot when it came to basketball. When the giant teen approached her niece, her tolerance dropped dramatically. She narrowed her eyes as she watched Kagome and Murasakibara talk, the petite girl smiling all the while and laughing when the tall boy ruffled her hair slightly before swatting at him. But when the violet-haired teen leaned down and kissed the top of Kagome’s head, Araki decided that it was time to bring her center back to practice.

The four starting upperclassmen gave their coach plenty of room as she strode forward, never taking her eyes off of the couple at the end of the court. Well, they all thought with a small prayer for Murasakibara, it was finally happening. Okamura might just be taking back his position as the team’s center.

“Murasakibara,” Araki bit out when she was within a few feet of the athlete. “You left your position. Go run laps. _Now_.”

Murasakibara frowned as he turned to look down at his coach, a whine ready to leave his lips, but he paused when he saw the look in her eye and the way her hand tightened tightened around her shinai. With a long-suffering sigh, he turned to his girlfriend, offered a dejected “Bye, Kago-chin,” and took off around the gym at a slow (very slow) jog.

Araki watched and waited until Murasakibara was a distance away before turning to her niece and said, “I didn’t know that you were that well acquainted with Murasakibara.”

Kagome gave her aunt a nervous smile. It wasn’t that they had deliberately not told the woman that they were dating. It just hadn’t come up towards the beginning of their relationship, and after a while it just slipped her mind completely. “Well...we _have_ been dating for a little while now.”

“How long?”

“A little over three months?”

“And you didn’t tell me because…”

“I forgot?”

Araki frowned and gave Kagome a look. “Is that an answer or a question?”

Sighing, Kagome explained, “I meant to tell you. But you were working longer hours and getting home late when we first started dating, so there was never really a good time to bring it up. After a while I really did just forget.”

With as slow as he was, Murasakibara was just making it about halfway around the court from where he’d started. Watching him, Araki asked seriously, “How does he treat you?” She knew that he had a few screws loose and could be mean and thoughtless, whether it was intentional or not.

“Atsushi?” Kagome asked in surprise. She wasn’t quite sure how to answer at first, but after thinking on it, she smiled. “He’s sweet.” When her aunt looked to her for more, she continued, “He can be a little spacey, but he’s always thinking about what he can do to make me happy.” Laughing as a thought occurred to her, she added, “And he’s always really careful and gentle around me. I think he’s afraid I might break.”

As Murasakibara was about to jog past his coach and girlfriend, Araki called out to him. “Murasakibara.” Slowing down to a stop, he turned to look at the older woman and waited for her to speak. “Hang back after practice. The three of us are going to go to dinner so that I can lay down a some _ground rules_. Understand?”

The two teens tensed as Araki gave both of them a pointed look before she returned to where the rest of the team was waiting and trying to pretend that they hadn’t been eavesdropping.

Kagome gave her pouting boyfriend a reassuring smile before saying, “I guess I’ll just stay here until practice is over.” She walked over and took a seat on the bottom row of the bleachers that lined the gym’s walls. “Don’t worry, I’ll guard your snacks,” she told him before grabbing something from inside one of the bags and tossing him a small, wrapped brownie.

Murasakibara smiled happily as he unwrapped his treat and took a bite, thinking once again on how much he loved his tiny girlfriend.

“Murasakibara,” Araki called from where she stood with the team. “Get back under the net. Practice isn’t over yet.”

Nodding as he shoved the rest of the brownie into his mouth, he waved at Kagome and returned to his position. As practice resumed and he watched the ball from where he stood, he idly wondered if coach’s ground rules would have anything about him being alone with Kagome at their house, because that would be too bad if he had to stop. He liked spending time with Kago-chin. But coach was kind of scary and the thought of her supervising their dates gave him a shiver.


	8. Taiga Kagami

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Eight: Taiga Kagami  
Rating: K+  
Prompt: Childhood Friend/America

Sitting down at their regular table, Kagami and Kuroko settled in for their post-practice hangout routine, Kagami with his tray piled high with burgers and Kuroko with his simple vanilla shake. Kagami was just unwrapping his first burger, ready to dig in, when a group of chatting girls walked past the table on their way to get in line to order. He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but it only took hearing one stray comment to completely catch his attention.

“I can’t believe you didn’t accept his confession, Kagome,” one girl sighed.

“I’m not going to agree to go out with someone that I’m not interested in,” another girl answered.

“Why not give him a chance?” A third girl chimed in. “You said that two-timing boyfriend of yours is out of the picture for good now, right?”

Several others in the group shushed the girl since she’d apparently touched on a taboo topic.

“Guys, it’s okay, really,” the girl they’d been talking about said in an almost tired voice. “It’s in the past. Let’s just go get our food, okay?”

Kagami turned away from his burger to stare in the direction that the girls had gone. He didn’t know exactly which school their uniforms belonged to, but he recognized them as another school in the area. But beyond that, he was surprised to see that he recognized one of the girls. At least, he thought he did. She was older and her hair was longer, but he was _sure_ it was her. She looked about the right age. She had the same name. And really, how many blue-eyed teenage Kagome’s could there be walking around Tokyo?

He wanted to call out and see if it was really her, but she was with a group of friends. Mistaking one person for another was embarrassing enough, but doing it in front of a group of girls was a little more humiliation than he was willing to risk. He jumped and swore under his breath when he was swiftly kicked under the table.

Trying not to yell, he whipped back around to face Kuroko and hissed, “What the hell was that for?”

“Quit staring at them,” Kuroko told him flatly. “It makes you look like a creep.”

Kagami glared at his friend for a moment before an idea hit him. “Kuroko,” he said to get the smaller boy’s attention. When Kuroko looked back to him from where he’d discreetly glanced towards the girls Kagami had been staring at, Kagami told him, “Say my name.”

Kuroko blinked before taking the straw from his mouth. “Taiga Kagami.”

Pressing a hand to his face, Kagami groaned. “ _No_ , say my name when they come back this way. Loud enough for them to hear.”

“Why?”

“I think I know one of them, but I’m not sure,” Kagami explained quietly. “If you say my name where they can hear and she reacts or looks this way, I’ll know that it’s probably her.”

“Why don’t you just go ask her?” Kuroko questioned as he looked towards the group of girls again.

“Because...shut up,” Kagami snapped as his cheeks tinged pink. Kuroko shrugged and the two waited for the girls to come back with their food.

Kagami hoped, really _really_ hoped, that it was her. If she was the Kagome that he remembered, he hadn’t seen her since sixth grade, back when he was still in America.

He’d met Kagome not long after he met Himuro, but while Himuro was a year older than he was, Kagome had been his age. She’d moved to America to stay with some relatives after her father had died. He remembered how shy she was since her English wasn’t very good yet and how withdrawn she’d been from everyone else. With those factors, it wasn’t that surprising when he and Himuro had come across a group of girls teasing her while on their way to the basketball courts.

The two boys had managed to get the girls to leave Kagome alone and had invited her to come with them since there was an ice cream stand near the courts. He still remembered how happy she’d been when they’d spoken to her in Japanese. She almost cried. Kagami and Himuro had both chipped in to buy her an ice cream, and she sat along the edges of the court to watch them play. She even tried to join them after a while, but she had trouble controlling the ball with how small her hands were.

After that, the three of them were together a lot. It turned out that she only lived a couple of streets over from Kagami, and they even went to the same school, though weren’t in the same class. Kagami didn’t see Himuro as much after the older boy went to a different school, but he and Kagome were close friends all the way up until she moved back to Japan part of the way into their sixth grade year. They had managed to stay in touch for a while, but both of them got busy with their own lives and they slowly drifted apart. He’d always wondered what had happened to her.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kagami waited tensely as the group of girls walked back in their direction and took their seats at a table just a couple over from where he and Kuroko sat. Kagami looked meaningfully at Kuroko to prompt his friend to follow through with the plan, but he nearly choked when Kuroko spoke in a tone laced with obviously faked awe, much louder than was really needed, “Taiga Kagami, what’s it like to be the ace player on Japan’s best high school basketball team?”

Kagami’s jaw dropped as he stared across the table at his friend. He risked a glance towards the table of girls and when a few of them started to giggle, he put one elbow on the table and tried to hide his face behind his hand. When he looked back across the table to let Kuroko know that he was going to strangle him later, he saw that his shadow had left and barely caught the sight of a head of blue hair heading out the door. “That little…”

He missed the sound of approaching footsteps and was slightly startled when a voice spoke, “Excuse me?” Looking up, he watched as blue eyes brightened and a smile broke out across Kagome’s face. “It is you! Taiga, it’s me, Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. Do you remember me?”

“Of course!” Eyes widening a little at how loud his response had come out, he coughed awkwardly before trying again, “I mean, yeah, how could I forget?”

“It’s been so long,” Kagome breathed as she looked at him with something akin to disbelief. He noticed her arms move forward a bit before she paused and pulled back again. It reminded him about how she’d always loved to hug people, and he found himself disappointed that she felt like she had to hold back now.

“Do you, uh...do you want to sit down?” He offered motioning towards Kuroko’s vacated seat.

“Didn’t you have a friend sitting here? Will he mind?”

“Nah, he took off.”

“Okay then,” Kagome happily agreed before returning to her table to get her drink.

Kagami heard a conversation in hushed tones happen between Kagome and her friends before she finally waved them off and slid into the seat across from him.

“I still can’t believe I’m seeing you after all this time,” Kagome laughed.

“Yeah, I know,” he agreed a little shyly. He knew that she was older and had gotten taller, but he was just noticing how much she’d matured and filled out since the last time they saw each other.

“So I couldn’t help hearing your friend; are you still playing basketball?”

He relaxed some as the conversation steered towards something he could easily talk about. He happily told her about playing for Seirin and with Kuroko and how they’d won the Winter Cup. He listened as she told him about what she’d been doing since coming back to Japan for middle school, though she seemed to gloss over a lot of her last year of middle school. He didn’t know how long they’d been talking when her friends came over to the table, not so subtly sizing him up, and told Kagome that they were leaving.

Kagome glanced at him and hesitated for a moment, and he jumped on the opportunity to offer, “I can walk you home, if you want.” Smiling happily at his offer, Kagome told her friends to go on without her and that she’d call them later. It made him feel good that she would rather stay and keep catching up with him instead of leave.

And catching up is exactly what they did. Neither of them noticed how late it had gotten until they looked around and saw that they were the only ones left in the restaurant. As he followed Kagome’s lead and she told him about her home, they walked near enough that their arms kept bumping against each other. After it happened several times, his throat getting a little tighter at each touch, Kagami finally worked up the nerve to tentatively reach out and loosely wrap his hand around hers.

Kagome paused in her talking for a moment as her cheeks heated up, but she eventually tightened her fingers around his and picked up where she’d left off in their conversation.

As they walked down the street together, some of the older people passing by smiled and gave the teens knowing looks as they walked hand-in-hand, each blushing brightly and trying to keep the other from noticing.


	9. Shintarou Midorima

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Nine: Shintarou Midorima  
Rating: K  
Prompt: Lady Luck, Lucky Item

Everyone could tell that something was deeply off as soon as Midorima entered the gym for morning practice. The aura surrounding him was even more intense than usual, and no one was very eager to approach him. Well, almost no one.

“Shin-chan!” Takao called out as he ran up to his friend, but he stopped short and let out a low whistle. “Wow, what’s got you in such a mood this early?”

Midorima glared at his fellow first year before grumbling, “My horoscope.”

“Oh,” Takao drawled out in understanding. “What happened? Did that shop you go to not have what you need?”

“No, they did not,” Midorima answered as he pulled out his phone and showed the point guard Cancer’s Oha Asa horoscope for the day.

Takao took the phone and looked closely at the screen as he read what had the teams ace so put out. “Let’s see...lucky color, pink. Lucky item…” He trailed off and had to bite his lip in an unsuccessful attempt to keep from laughing, and he completely lost his battle when Midorima’s expression soured even more. “Oh, come on! That’s funny. What kind of a lucky item is “A person born in February”?”

“It isn’t often, but Oha Asa occasionally lists people with certain attributes as lucky items,” Midorima explained tightly. “The problem is that I can’t get this item in any store, and I don’t believe I know anyone at school born in February.”

“I’d help you out, but you already know I’m November,” Takao mused as he looked around the gym. “Nobody else on the team?”

Midorima pointed out and crossed off each member as he’d made it a point to know what zodiac signs he was playing with and who might affect his performance on the court during games. “None of our teammates have birthdays in February.”

“Hmm,” Takao hummed as he tried to think of someone. After all, even if he didn’t want to help Midorima out because of their friendship, a grumpy Midorima wasn’t any fun to be around. Spotting one person the taller boy hadn’t said anything about, Takao pointed, “What about her?”

Midorima looked to where his friend was pointing and suddenly came up short. The team’s manager, a third year, who he’d never paid much attention to and never learned the birthday of. “I’m...not sure,” he admitted.

“Well, let’s see!” Takao shrugged before waving at the girl who was talking to their captain and writing something on her clipboard. “Kagome! Can you come here for a minute?”

Kagome waved in return and excused herself from Otsubo before making her way over to the two tall underclassmen. “Hey guys, did you need something?”

“When were you born?” Takao asked happily.

Knowing that Midorima was more than a little superstitious when it came to zodiac signs, Kagome wasn’t terribly surprised to be asked about her birthday. “February twenty-second. Why?” The way Midorima stiffened was noticeable and almost instant. She looked up at him, concerned that she’d said something wrong and saw that his jaw was tight and his eyes were a little wider than usual. “What did I say?”

Trying not to laugh at the way Kagome edged away from Midorima, Takao explained, “You’re his lucky item today.”

Kagome was quiet for a moment before speaking, “...Excuse me?”

“My lucky item for the day is a person born in February,” Midorima elaborated in a low voice. Aside from his sister, he really didn’t talk to girls all that often. And he felt all the more awkward because Kagome was older than he was yet still so much smaller in comparison...and pretty...that really didn’t help him either.

“Really?” Kagome asked in surprise and leaned in to look at the phone screen that Takao turned to show her. “Huh...well, that’s...something.”

“You’re the only person born in February that he knows,” Takao supplied in a not-so-quiet whisper.

Kagome looked up to Midorima again, and she would have sworn that she saw a faint blush tinting his cheeks but it was hard to tell. “Well, I don’t mind sticking by you during practice, but I can’t exactly stay with you the rest of the day since we’re in different classes.” Midorima made an irritated noise to indicate that he also acknowledged the fact and was less than pleased. “Wait a minute,” Kagome said suddenly as an idea hit her. “Let me see the horoscope again.” When Takao showed her once more, she motioned for them to wait a moment before running to her bag.

“What is she doing?” Midorima asked as he watched her rummage around in different pockets before finding what she was looking for and jogging back over to them.

Pulling out a tube of opaque pink lip gloss, Kagome unscrewed the little wand and carefully applied a layer to her lips. “I wear this a lot,” she explained before she pressed her lips together to get the gloss more evenly distributed. “Here.” Taking Midorima’s arm, which he only hesitated and pulled back on for a moment before giving it over, Kagome rolled up his uniform’s long sleeve and turned his arm over. She pressed her lips to the inside of his wrist, trying to not take notice of how nice his skin smelled. “There!” She declared as she pulled back.

Midorima, who had gone completely rigid when her soft lips met his skin, looked down to his wrist and saw a pink and perfect outline of Kagome’s lips. He could feel his face and even the tops of his ears heat up, and he reached up his other hand to adjust his glasses and hopefully hide the darkening color.

“Since I can’t personally be with you, now you have a little pink piece of me that can go with you!” She enthused, pleased by her idea. It didn’t escape her notice that Midorima had gotten very flustered by her actions, and she smiled to herself. She didn’t usually go for younger guys, but the very serious first year was actually kind of cute when he got worked up. “It might start to wear off after a while, so come find me at lunch if you need me to freshen it up, okay?

When Midorima nodded, Kagome smiled and walked back to find the team captain and finish what they’d been discussing. The two first years watched her leave, Takao gave Midorima a sidelong glance before giving him a very suggestive smile. “Hey, Shin-chan, didn’t you mention once that you have a thing for older girls? I should probably point out that your luck today might be pretty strong if you were to ask a certain someone out.”

“Shut-up, Takao,” Midorima replied flatly as he turned towards the locker rooms. “Get back to practice. I still need to change.” He could hear the shorter boy laugh at him, but as he glanced down at the slightly sticky pink mark on his wrist, he wondered if Takao might just be right.


	10. Daiki Aomine II

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Ten: Daiki Aomine  
Rating: K  
Prompt: Continuation

Aomine was in a foul mood as he gathered up his stuff from the locker room and prepared to leave. There hadn’t been any decent players on their opposing team, so it had been a pretty boring game. He did make the extra effort to show off with some of his showier moves and shots, but the stands were so dark that he couldn’t find Kagome in the crowds. He had no idea if she was even watching, so it felt a little like wasted energy.

On top of that, Kagome hadn’t been waiting for him when the team made it back to the locker rooms, and none of his teammates believed that he’d met her in the first place. There had been more than a few jokes about too many naps on the roof frying his brain, but Aomine had taken it, his frown deepening each time. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he turned to glare at Wakamatsu, his main antagonizer, “Screw you, she was really here.”

“You should’ve gotten a picture with her then,” the blond returned. “Maybe then I’d believe you.”

“I got her damn autograph,” Aomine argued.

“Because _nobody else_ can sign a book,” Wakamatsu scoffed. “Just go ahead and bail on the team meeting like we all know you’re going to do anyway.”

Walking over to the door and opening it to leave, Aomine began to retort, “You guys can kiss my a-...ah.” He trailed off when he turned around mid-sentence and saw someone leaning against the wall opposite of the locker room door. It was a girl, and she looked familiar but...different. She was small with black hair that fell to her shoulders and small-framed glasses were perched on her nose. But when she turned to look up at him and he saw her blue eyes, his own widened. “What the hell?”

Kagome smiled widely as she pushed herself off of the wall. “What do you think?” She asked turning a small circle. “I told my friends about what happened and pointed you out when you started playing. They wanted to help disguise me so that I could come back without getting swarmed. It’s worked pretty well so far.”

“What happened to your hair?” Aomine asked as he dropped his bag in the doorway and stepped towards her, more than a little worried. He liked her hair.

“It’s just pinned up underneath,” she explained as she moved some of her hair to show him. “It’s a faux bob.”

Looking down at her clothes, a dress and sweater combo, he looked even more confused as he said, “I thought you were wearing shorts earlier.” If she’d been wearing this dress, he would have seen up her skirt when she fell.

“I swapped clothes with one of my friends in case some of the people from earlier spotted me.”

“And these?” He asked tapping the glasses.

“They’re fake,” Kagome told him while rolling her eyes. “One of my friends wears them because she thinks they make her look smart.” Hearing more voices, she leaned around Aomine a little and saw the locker room door wide open, propped that way by his discarded bag, and the rest of his team was staring out into the hallway.

Aomine turned around to see what Kagome was looking at and smirked. Without a word, he took out his phone, got behind Kagome, leaned down, and took a selfie with her while flipping off the camera. Satisfied with himself, he quickly attached the picture to a message and his send. In the locker room, Wakamatsu’s phone rang and when he checked his messages, he was greeted by Aomine’s finger.

“Ass,” the upperclassman muttered as he dropped his phone back in his bag.

“ _Really_?” Kagome asked as she looked at Aomine. “You take a picture with me and _that’s_ what you do?”

Aomine shrugged, smug grin still plastered on his face. “He said to get a picture.” Listening to Kagome muttering about not believing that _this_ was what she came back for, he went to retrieve his bag and watched his team’s surprised faces as the door swung shut. “I won,” he pointed out as he came back to Kagome. “Aren’t you going to congratulate me?”

The cocky tone to his voice made her want to smack him, but she still blushed a little under the look he was giving her. Despite knowing that it could very well be a terrible idea, Kagome offered, “I thought I could treat you to something to eat. You actually did play really well.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to go on dates,” Aomine teased as his grin widened.

“It’s not a date!” Kagome argued as her blush deepened. “If anyone recognizes me, we’ve known each other for years, we’re just friends getting something to eat, and I’m just trying out a new look. Got it?”

“Sure,” he answered though his tone made it clear that he knew better. It was totally a date.

When he heard the locker room door open again, he casually slung an arm around Kagome’s slim shoulders and pulled her into his side - to which she protested that this was _not_ friend behavior - while he guided her down the hall and towards the nearest exit. Mood lightened significantly, Aomine thought about how this victory was _much_ more satisfying than the one from the game.


	11. Yoshitaka Moriyama

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Eleven: Yoshitaka Moriyama  
Rating: K

Finally. Kise had _finally_ set up a mixer with some girls that he knew, calling it a gift for the Kaijou’s graduating seniors. Moriyama had been a little disappointed at first since Kise had come along to the mixer as well and was therefore getting most of the attention, but Moriyama had actually managed to hit it off with the girl sitting next to him.

She was introduced to him as Kagome Higurashi, a first year from a different high school in Tokyo who’d met Kise through work when she started modeling earlier that year. She was cute and smart and funny and laughed at his jokes. Honestly, Moriyama couldn’t have been more pleased with his conversation partner.

“Oh,” Moriyama said with surprise as he stared down at Kagome’s palm where he held her small hand in his much larger one. “Oh wow.”

Kagome watched the basketball player next to her and did her best to bite back a laugh. He was cute and sweet and funny, but he was also laying it on pretty thick. Lucky for him, she thought that it was actually pretty charming in its own way. “What is it?” She asked in feigned curiosity, leaning closer to their joined hands to see what he was looking at.

“It’s your heart line,” he told her, running his thumb over the deep line in her palm, wondering what had caused the few fading calluses on her otherwise soft skin. “It’s telling me that you’re going to meet a great love very soon. Actually, it’s a little hard to tell, but you may have already met him.”

She was able to keep it together for a few seconds as she looked up into Moriyama’s dark eyes. But when she saw the smooth look that he was giving her - which probably would have worked on anyone else, to be honest - obviously confident in himself, Kagome wasn’t able to hold back her laughter anymore. He looked a little surprised at her reaction, but before he could say anything, she reached out and took his hand. “Here, let me look at yours.” Turning his palm up, she pointed to a faint random line that had nothing to do with palmistry and said, “This line is telling me that you fudge palm readings to flirt with girls.”

Moriyama drew back, ready to deny the accusation, but when he saw that Kagome’s expression was more teasing than upset, he sighed and admitted defeat. “In my defense, it usually works.” Leaning his elbow on the table and resting his cheek on his upturned palm, he asked, “I could have been telling the truth though. How’d you know I wasn’t?”

“Because I had a friend who used to use the same trick,” Kagome smiled up at him. “He was a flirt, but he was also a monk and knew exactly what he was doing. I called him out on it one day, so he taught how to really read someone’s palm.”

“Really?” Moriyama questioned, intrigued. Kagome seemed to be full of surprises.

“Mmhm,” Kagome hummed with a small nod. “Here, let me see your left hand and I’ll give you a real reading.”

Curious as to if she could actually read palms, Moriyama happily let Kagome hold his hand in hers.

Instead of keeping his hand flat as he’d done with hers, she curved it a little so that his palm was cupped slightly and the lines were more pronounced. “Now then,” she started as she looked up to make eye contact with him. “For men, your left hand tells what you’re born with and your right hand tells what you’ve gathered through your life. It’s the other way around for girls.” Looking back down to his large palm, she traced a finger lightly over the uppermost line. “Your heart line,” she said studying the long curve, “is telling me that you’re someone who’s comfortable with freely expressing your feelings and emotions.”

Trying not to get distracted by the way the light touch of Kagome’s fingertip tickled over his skin, Moriyama looked up at her and told her, “You’re not wrong.”

“I know,” Kagome said confidently with a teasing smile. Moving on, she traced her finger over the next line. “Your head line,” she pointed out. This line was deep and long, and the meaning behind it caused Kagome to hum to herself in surprise.

“What is it?” Moriyama asked.

“Your head line says that you’re someone who’s focused and thinks clearly. You must hide it well,” Kagome told him as she bit back a smile.

“Hey!” Moriyama laughed in mock hurt.

“Don’t worry,” Kagome soothed. “I’m sure it’s still right.” Moving on to the most downward sloping line, she said, “And now your life line.” The line was deep and long, almost touching his wrist. Smiling she told him, “You’re someone whose life has vitality.” Noticing the additional smaller lines running beside his main life line, she added, “Oh, lots of vitality.” She looked back up at him and asked, “How am I doing so far?”

“You’re three for three,” Moriyama confirmed, silently impressed and feeling himself falling a little more for the girl in front of him by the second.

“That’s good,” Kagome said before turning back to his palm. “But you see, what’s really interesting is this.” Pointing out a fourth line running almost vertically through his heart and head lines. “This is your fate line. Not everyone has one of these, so you’re special,” she told him. “Your fate line is deep, meaning that you’re someone who’s strongly controlled by fate. What do you think about that? What do you believe in? Fate or coincidence?”

Moriyama thought for a minute before answering, “I’ve never really bought into fate.”

“Really?” Kagome asked as she tipped her head up to look at him more closely as she talked. “So me just happening to know Kise, me just happening to not have to work today, me just happening to have the money for the train here, me just happening to sit next to you, and me just happening to know how to really read palms? That’s a lot of coincidences.”

Moriyama had a light feeling in the pit of his stomach as he stared down into Kagome’s blue eyes as she looked up at him with a small smile, waiting to see what he would say next. “Well,” he drawled out, “I guess when you put it that way, fate does seem a little more believable.” Yeah. He _really_ liked this girl. Momentarily forgetting about their surroundings, he slowly leaned closer, waiting to see if she’d pull away from him. When she didn’t, he was about to close the short distance between them when something hit him in the side of the face and startled him out of the moment.

“Hey,” Kasamatsu called to him from across the table looking very unimpressed. “Nobody wants to watch you make out.”

Having the decency to blush a little in embarrassment, Moriyama cleared his throat as he straightened back up and gently pulled his hand from Kagome’s. He was trying to find something else to talk about when she beat him to the punch.

He felt a small hand touch his arm before he looked at her and she asked, “Want to leave and go see a movie?”

Moriyama was stunned silent for a moment before a smile broke out across his face. “Yeah,” he nodded. “That sounds great.”

He waited for her to stand first before following suit and announcing that they were leaving. He could have sworn he heard Kasamatsu mutter something along the lines of “finally” but it was hard to tell over Kise’s protests that they were leaving too early. Kagome waved off Kise’s complaints before giving the blond a quick hug around the shoulders and saying that she would talk to him later. The last Moriyama heard of the mixer was the other girls trying to get Kise’s attention again as the door closed behind himself and Kagome.

Slipping his large hand around her smaller one, he thought that he might try giving her a real palm reading one day, but for now he was happy to just hold her hand as they walked together.


	12. Makoto Hanamiya I

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Twelve: Makoto Hanamiya  
Rating: T  
Prompt: Honesty

As he walked into the little cafe, intentionally late to put himself in a controlling position for their little meeting, Hanamiya spotted Kagome immediately and grinned to himself. She was sitting with her back to him, and he could see her fingers drumming against the table in irritation. 

Oh, he really did love getting her riled up. It was just so much fun! He’d always gotten a certain amount of pleasure out of getting under the skin of others, but there was something about Kagome’s reactions to his poking and prodding and pushing that he found almost addictive. She was intelligent enough to have enjoyable conversations with, but once her emotions took over, she was all passion over logic and it shined out in everything about her; the flush of her face and throat, the spark of fire in her eyes, her expressions, her tones, even the way she always punctuated what she was saying by talking with her hands. She was intoxicating in a way he didn’t think he could ever get tired of watching.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said without the slightest hint of sincerity since they both knew he didn’t mean it. Slipping into the seat across from Kagome, he wasn’t surprised at all to see her already glaring at him. He could practically see the blue sparks snapping in her irises, and his grin only widened.

“No,” Kagome countered. “You’re not.” Her fingers stopped drumming and her hands tightened into fists for a moment before she took a deep breath and let it out. Elbows resting on the table, she brought her hands up to rub her face as she quietly said, “I’m so tired of these stupid lies.”

Hanamiya suddenly had a very bad feeling deep in his stomach. Glancing around, a few things started falling into place for him. They were in a public place. She’d asked to meet with him very suddenly, via text, without any real explanation of what she wanted to talk about. She’d barely looked at him since he sat down. The grin was already fading from his face as he leaned more on the table. His grin fell completely when Kagome moved to sit back in her chair, very much away from him, at his move to get closer to her. “Kagome?” He asked in a lower tone.

Sitting so that her back was pressed into the back of her seat, Kagome allowed her hands to rest on the table in front of her. She was quiet for a moment as she nervously played with her fingers and fingernails. She still couldn’t look at him. Not until she steeled her nerve. The bully sitting across from her - _her boyfriend_ \- had a distinct way of looking like a kicked puppy when he wanted something. Her jaw tightened in irritation. That was yet another thing that had pushed her to this point. She just couldn’t do it anymore. The manipulation. The fighting. The lies. The crying. She’d had enough.

Finally lifting her eyes from her hands to look into his olive-gray eyes, she plainly told him, “I’m done, Makoto.”

“Finished,” he quickly corrected and smirked when she closed her eyes and mumbled a quiet “ _I swear to…_ ”, but before she could get too irritated with him, he brought the subject back around to what she’d initially said. “Finished with what?”

“You!” Kagome bit out, still annoyed with him from only a moment prior. Suddenly remembering where they were and why she wanted to do this publicly, Kagome held up both of her hands to act as a barrier between them as she took another breath and lowered her volume before continuing, “I’m _finished_ with you. With this _relationship_ , if you can even call it that anymore, and all of the drama that comes with it.”

Hanamiya propped his chin in one hand as he watched his girlfriend. She was trying so hard to control her emotions and not yell at him. He probably would have been a little impressed at how well she was doing if it wasn’t for the twisting feeling he had in his stomach. He needed to figure out a way to get control of this situation again and put a stop to this conversation. He didn’t want to break up, and he was confident that he’d find a way out of it. He just needed time. “Is that so?” He asked. “May I ask why?”

Kagome bit back her first urge to tell him it was because he was a jerk and call him several more much more colorful names, and instead said, “Because you lied to me.”

Hanamiya almost laughed at that. It was no big secret that he lied to pretty much everyone, and Kagome had always known that she wasn’t really an exception to that. She usually saw through him anyway. It had just become part of their dynamic, for better or worse. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“When you first asked me out, before I ever agreed to give you a chance despite your reputation, what was the _one thing_ you promised me?” Kagome asked as she felt her throat start to tighten.

It only took a few seconds for the memory to come back and bit him. Hanamiya’s eyes widened slightly and the plans he’d been working out for the rest of the conversation froze and crumbled away.

“Yeah,” Kagome confirmed as she saw the look of realization cross Hanamiya’s face. “I _know_.” She allowed the knowledge to sink in for him before her anger finally got the better of her and she quickly leaned across the table, closing much of the space between them, to hiss, “You promised me, Makoto. _You promised_.”

Hanamiya actually averted his eyes from Kagome’s angry gaze. When they’d first met, he’d thought that Kagome was interesting if nothing else. Perceptive and intuitive, she didn’t need to be as intelligent as he was to see through him and call him out. She was a challenge. She never backed down from him. Other people at school were afraid of him, afraid that if he could destroy them socially or physically if the whim hit him. And their fears weren’t completely unfounded. But Kagome had been different. She stood up to him and defended others from him. It had taken a while to convince her to give him a chance in a relationship - something he’d honestly been a little surprised she even agreed to - but there’d been a condition.

“I get it,” Kagome continued as she leaned back again with a sigh. “I know who you are, as a person, Makoto. You’re always the smartest guy in a room and you’re very aware of it. You’re charismatic when you want or need to be. You manipulate people. You lie. You cheat. You do what you want to get what you want because you know you’re smart enough to get away with it.” Pausing to bite her lip and shake her head, Kagome shrugged before continuing, “But I still said yes. Because I’d spent enough time around you to know that wasn’t _all_ you are. You’re loyal to the people you think deserve it and protective of people you care about. You’re _so smart_. You could do or be anything you want. You’re funny, even when it isn’t at another person’s expense. I could accept the bad with the good because it’s just who you are, even if I don’t always agree. But then you broke your promise. It was the one thing I seriously asked you for. The _one thing_ you knew I really cared about.”

Hanamiya dropped his head to look at the table and rub his fingers across his forehead as he thought. The memory wasn’t even that old. He really should have seen this coming. Or better, he shouldn’t have broken his only promise. His team had played a game not even a week ago, and he’d used one of his old tricks. A strategy that had taken a player from the opposing team out of the game and ultimately put them in the hospital. Kagome hadn’t cared about the cheating - okay, she _cared_ and told him as much but she wasn’t going to dictate how he coached or played - but the one thing she’d made him promise was that he wouldn’t physically injure other players during games anymore. And he’d done well for a while. Some of their plays were still underhanded, but neither he nor his teammates had hurt another player in months. But then...then there’d been this _guy_ , and he’d just rubbed Hanamiya in all the wrong ways.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Kagome never came to his games because she still didn’t like his tactics or the way he played, but he knew she would hear about the game eventually.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, sincerely, voice going softer than he could ever remember. “It won’t happen again.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen in the first place,” Kagome told him seriously. Sighing, she continued, “This is just the final nail in the coffin, Makoto. We probably both knew that this was coming. We fight all the time. We yell, I cry, you get upset, you apologize, we try to move on, and then we just do it all over again the next day.”

“Wait, just stop,” Hanamiya tried to cut in. He didn’t want this. With most people he wouldn’t care if they wanted to walk out. People were pawns and easily replaceable. But not her. Not Kagome. There wasn’t another Kagome. “Let’s talk.”

“No,” Kagome told him firmly. “I’m finished with talking. I can’t live like this. The fighting and the lies are making me sick. It feels like I can’t even breathe anymore. I mean...I even blame myself for this! Maybe if I hadn’t let all of the little lies slide, you wouldn’t have tried something so big. But this is where is stops. I can’t do this and I won’t. Not anymore.” Standing from her seat, Kagome swallowed and took a breath to push back the tears burning behind her eyes when she saw the stricken look on Hanamiya’s face. “I still care about you, you know. I know that you can be a better person than most people think. I really hope you find someone who makes you happy. Maybe you’ll remember the weight of a lie in your next relationship.” Kagome reached into her bag to pull out her wallet and put enough money on the table to cover the price of her untouched tea and a tip before she turned her attention back to her now ex-boyfriend and said, “Goodbye, Hanamiya.”

The use of his family name instead of his given name felt like a slap coming from Kagome. He watched, shocked and still confused, as Kagome walked away and left the cafe.

What the hell had just happened? She left him. She’d left him for lying to her and wished him well as she did it. A bitter smile made its way across Hanamiya’s face. She couldn’t even make him mad at her for walking out. Couldn’t she have yelled a little? Told him to go to hell? Insulted him? Something to get his temper up? But no. That wouldn’t have been Kagome. She told him she still cared, basically apologized for not being able to take what he put her through, and then wished him well before she left.

She hoped he found someone who could make him happy? Was she serious? _She_ made him happy.

Hanamiya paused in his thoughts. Had he ever actually told her that? In all the teasing and sass and, yes, even the lies, had he ever taken the time to tell her the truth? That she was the best part of his life? That she made him happy? That she made him less angry? That she calmed the bitterest parts of him and brought some light into his life? If he had, he couldn’t recall it.

“Shit,” he muttered as he realized how stupid he’d been. He’d taken her, her kindness, and her acceptance of his worst characteristics completely for granted. Had he really stepped beyond forgiveness with the most forgiving person he’d ever known?

Quickly standing and leaving the cafe, Hanamiya looked around the street, but Kagome was already long gone and nowhere to be seen. It was only when he felt the burn in his eyes and saw his vision start to blur that he turned on his heel and started home. He kept his eyes on the ground so that passersby wouldn’t see the red rimming his eyes, because these damn tears just wouldn’t stop. Somewhere, deep down, he thought it might be a sort of punishment. His guilty conscience’s way of getting back at him for all the times he’d made her cry.


	13. Makoto Hanamiya II

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Kuroko no Basket and make no money from these writings.

====================

Hustle and Heart

Chapter Thirteen: Makoto Hanamiya  
Rating: T  
Prompt: Continuation

“Good morning, Kagome,” Hanamiya greeted as he met his ex by her shoe locker.

“Don’t you have morning practice?” Kagome returned without sparing the taller boy a glance.

“We finished early.”

“And you decided use your extra time to come harass me at my locker? Again?” She asked as she slipped off one set of shoes before putting on another.

Hanamiya watched her closely, trying not to frown at the way she was making a point to not look at him, before saying, “Don’t you think “harass” is a little harsh? Is it so horrible to want to say good morning to someone that I care about?”

Kagome stiffened immediately before slamming the door of her small locker shut and rounding on the basketball captain. “You stop that, right now!” She whispered as she pointed a finger at him. “You are _not_ going to emotionally blackmail me into feeling guilty about breaking up with you. You’re not even going to _try_. You’re going to leave me alone and respect my choice.”

Watching Kagome turn and walk away from him, Hanamiya waited a moment before he said to himself, though still definitely loud enough for her to hear, “But can I really respect a decision that I don’t agree with?”

“Excuse me?” Kagome asked as she stopped and slowly turned to face Hanamiya in shock.

A few students had stopped in the entrance hall to watch the the two. Of course they would draw attention; the school’s bad boy and the sweet girl nobody understood how he got to date him. It wasn’t lost on Hanamiya that they’d been the subject of a lot of the school’s gossip even before their break up. Staring down the gawkers, Hanamiya told them in a firm voice, “Go. Away.” He got a small thrill at the way everyone around them paled and scurried off before he eventually turned his attention back to the only person who mattered to him at the moment. “I don’t agree with your decision,” Hanamiya said frankly, picking up where they’d left off as he took several steps towards Kagome to close the gap between them. “I don’t want to break up.”

Kagome’s mouth dropped open and she could only stand there and blink up at the audacity of the man in front of her. “For a genius, you can be so willfully stupid,” she mumbled before speaking up in a clearer voice. “This isn’t about what you want. For once in this relationship, it has nothing to do with what you want. It’s about me. It’s about what _I_ want and what’s best for _me_. I told you. I’m not putting up with it anymore; the fighting, the lies, the little manipulations, I’m over it. I’m through being a toy for you to play with when you’re bored, Hanamiya. Now, _goodbye_.”

“What if I said I was sorry? And that I meant it? What if I said that I would change?”

“I’m going to be late for class,” Kagome sighed to herself before bringing her attention back to Hanamiya. “I never asked you to change. I knew who you were. You can’t change a person. Not really. A person has to want to change on their own for it to mean anything and actually work. But I hoped that you might eventually put your ego aside long enough to treat me like an equal. You only ever called to push my buttons and fight. We only ever went on dates when you were bored or wanted to placate me. You never acted like I was a priority. I was just...a way for you to pass time. Just another one of those stupid toys you talk about. And you’re just mad that I left before you could break me.”

Hanamiya frowned at what he was being told. Was that really what she thought? Was that really how he’d made her feel? Like she was just a toy? A distraction? “I’m sorry,” he said without thinking, and the emotion and sincerity in his voice surprised even himself.

Kagome was taken aback by how open Hanamiya’s face was in that moment. No smirking, nothing calculating in his eyes, just honest surprise and remorse. That one small apology was the most honest thing she’d ever come out of his mouth.

Or, at least, that was the way it sounded. Closing her mouth and tightening her jaw, Kagome took a step back away from Hanamiya. He was a very good actor. He was easily able to wrap teachers, referees, and anyone else who could benefit him around his fingers. Kagome tried to speak only to have nothing come out. Swallowing, she tried again, “I want to believe that. I wish I could. But they’re just words, and I’ve had too many bad experiences with yours.”

Watching Kagome walk away again, Hanamiya held back the urge to punch a locker. “Damn it,” he swore. Thinking about what she’d said, a new plan started forming in his mind. “Just words, huh?”

\--------------------

Soon it became common for Kagome to find small gifts left for her at school. Her favorite flower in her shoe locker. Pastries from her favorite shops left on her desk. Books by authors and CDs by bands that she liked.

It was confusing at first. She wasn’t sure where they were coming at first. She wondered if there was an admirer somewhere in the school who was finally trying to reach out to her now that she was single. But on one day in particular a certain CD showed up. It was by a band she normally wouldn’t listen to but that she considered her “guilty pleasure.” She hadn’t told any of her friends about it. She’d only ever told Hanamiya. He’d teased her for it and she’d never brought it up again, but he was the only one who knew. He was the one leaving all these gifts?

Thinking back on it, Kagome was surprised. He’d gotten all of her favorites. Things she never really went on and on about and usually only mentioned in passing. Had he actually remembered all of it? Since when had he been paying attention?

Another surprise came not long after. It wasn’t uncommon to hear people talking about Makoto Hanamiya in the halls, usually about his latest questionable plays on the court. But the gossip was starting to shift. Word was that the Kirisaki Daiichi boys were cleaning up their act. The last several games had finished up with no injuries and little to no suspected cheating. And _that_ was something Kagome had to see for herself to believe.

During Kirisaki’s next game, Kagome sat in the crowds to watch the game. She went alone, not telling anyone that she’d be there specifically so that it wouldn’t get back to Hanamiya. She chose her seat carefully so that he wouldn’t be able to see her if he happened to look out into the stands. And for the first time, she watched Hanamiya play basketball in an official game.

He seemed so focused, she thought. The others on the team, boys she knew mostly from her association with their captain and coach, were very good at what they did, but it was obvious that Hanamiya was pulling the strings and commanding the game. Kagome watched him very closely. His dirty tricks were hard to prove, which was the reason he’d never gotten caught. She wanted to be absolutely certain that he was playing honestly and not just using new tactics.

But when a player from the other team fell - and through no fault of any of the Kirisaki boys - Hanamiya actually stopped. He stared at the player for a moment, as though he was debating with himself, before extending a hand and helping the other boy to his feet. Kagome actually laughed when Hanamiya sneered and wiped his hand on his shorts after the other player released him and walked away. He was obviously trying very hard to be a better person, even if it irked him to no end. And just seeing him _try_ warmed a small part of her.

Without their tricks, Kirisaki Daiichi was still able to win, but Hanamiya didn’t exactly look thrilled that he hadn’t been able to crush his opponent.

After the game, Kagome tracked down the locker rooms and waited. It didn’t take long for the team to reemerge, and Kagome had to bite her lip not to smile at the shock written across her ex’s face. “Good game,” she congratulated them.

“Thanks,” Hanamiya said as his brain caught up to the situation. She was there. She had seen. It had been part of his plan that she’d eventually hear about their clean games, but he’d been planning to invite her to watch one for herself in another couple of weeks. She’d pushed up his plans and he needed to adapt.

“It was the first time I’ve seen you play,” Kagome said, suddenly a little nervous at the way the players standing behind Hanamiya were watching them.

Seeing that Kagome was getting antsy, Hanamiya quickly dismissed the rest of his team. “We’ll have a meeting about the game tomorrow morning.” Most of them gave him knowing looks and little grins before they continued on their way and disappeared around the corner. Turning back to face Kagome, he told her, “I didn’t know that you were going to be here today.”

“I know.”

“And?”

Kagome looked over his face as she asked, “Are you serious about this? About this new leaf or whatever it is you’re doing?”

“If it’s for you,” Hanamiya started before he paused. He wanted to tell her that if it would make her happy, if it would make her proud to call him hers, if it would win her back, he would do anything she asked. But he still had a reputation and she probably wouldn’t believe him if he suddenly told her exactly how much he cared, if he told her all of the things he’d neglected telling her before. So, for now, he would take things in baby steps. He just knew that if she gave him a second chance, he wouldn’t be making the same mistakes. “Yeah,” he finally answered.

Releasing a sigh, Kagome nodded and smiled. “Well,” she said as she turned towards the exit. “Do you want to get something to eat? And maybe talk?”

“Sure,” Hanamiya nodded, allowing himself a small grin at her offer. 

They made it a few steps before he felt Kagome’s fingers, light and hesitant, slip into his hand. Tightening his grip on her much smaller hand, he thought for a moment, weighed his pros and cons, and hesitated for only a second before he leaned down to kiss the top of her head in the empty hallway. When Kagome turned surprised eyes up at him, Hanamiya almost blushed. He’d never really shown her little affections like that while they were out before. He’d thought himself above it. But he was trying something new this time. And the way her eyes and face lit up, he thought it might be even better than the expressions she made when they fought. He would need to gather more data just to be sure though.


End file.
